by Nathan Bomey, Detroit Free Press

by Nathan Bomey, Detroit Free Press

The 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 - which General Motors' product chief Mark Reuss has called "the big nasty" - will start at $78,995 for the coupe while the convertible version will start at $83,995.

At those levels, the Corvette Z06 is the most expensive vehicle GM sells in the U.S. The automaker also called it "the most powerful and technologically advanced model in the iconic sports car's 62-year history."

Revealed last January at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the Z06 pricetag increases quickly with the purchase of various packages.

The sports car's 6.2-liter, 8-cylinder engine boasts 650 horsepower, making it the "most powerful production car ever from General Motors," the company said. Like its sister car, the Corvette Stingray, the Z06 engine has direct injection, cylinder deactivation and continuously variable valve timing.

It also boasts a tremendous amount of downforce, an engineering term describing a car's ability to hug the road around corners. Most mass-market vehicles are exactly the opposite: They have too much lift when cornering.

"It's got more downforce than any vehicle General Motors has ever tested from any manufacturer," Corvette chief engineer Tadge Juechter said earlier this year. "We haven't tested them all, but we've tested quite a few of them."

The Corvette Z06 also leverages other technologies introduced on the Corvette Stingray, including the use of lightweight materials and advanced driver technologies, with calibrations tailored for its capabilities. The aluminum frame structure, for example, is 20% stiffer than the previous, fixed-roof Z06.

"The 2015 Corvette Z06's performance and technical capabilities place it in the elite fraternity of supercars," said Harlan Charles, Corvette product and marketing manager.